Philippine Airlines (PAL) posted substantial net profits amounting to as much as PhP2.6 Billion (US$65 Million) as reported in their latest financial report for the fiscal year ending March 2011. To help PAL recover from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, its workers have endured more than a decade of suspension of their collective bargaining that resulted to the freeze in salaries and benefits. Now that PAL is raking in profits, instead of rewarding its workers for their sacrifice, PAL decided to implement an outsourcing scheme that converts the jobs of these workers into contractual positions, which means salaries will be cut in half and benefits will be lost permanently.

Once workers under the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) protested the planned outsourcing of their jobs, they faced violent repression by police and goons. Some 2,400 workers were locked-out and fired from their jobs.

The Boycott PAL Coalition is calling for the boycott of Philippine Airlines and other business interests of Lucio Tan including Air Philippines in solidarity with members of PALEA.

In signing this petition and joining the boycott, we aim to send a clear message to Philippine Airlines and to Lucio Tan that we all stand against corporate greed and call for the immediate reinstatement of PALEA workers. We also call on the Philippine Government to take the side of social and economic justice and ensure that the rights of Filipino workers to decent jobs, to collective bargaining and to peaceful assembly is respected and promoted.

This petition was delivered to:

Philippine Airlines President and CEOJaime J. Bautista

Philippine Secretary of TourismRamon R. Jimenez, Jr.

Philippine Secretary of Labor and EmploymentRosalinda D. Baldoz

1 more decision maker...

President of the PhilippinesPresident Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III

Letter to

Philippine Airlines President and CEOJaime J. Bautista

Philippine Secretary of TourismRamon R. Jimenez, Jr.

Philippine Secretary of Labor and EmploymentRosalinda D. Baldoz

President of the PhilippinesPresident Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III

I just signed the following petition addressed to Philippine Airlines (PAL) and the Philippine Government. I support PALEA and I join the call to boycott PAL and other business interests of Lucio Tan including Air Philippines.

We, members of the Filipino-American community in the US, overseas Filipino workers from all over the world and concerned citizens of other countries, are deeply bothered by the injustice against workers of the Philippine’s flag carrier, the Philippine Airlines.

We express our serious concern at the plight of the more than 2,000 ground workers of Philippine Airlines. These workers, who are members of the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA), were locked out and terminated after a protest conducted by the union members against the implementation of PAL’s outsourcing scheme.

We are alarmed at the violence experienced by these workers in the hands police forces, private security guards and even hired goons who are trying to stop these workers from expressing their legitimate concerns. PAL’s harassment of the protesting workers is also clear from its decision to strip these union members of their hard-earned travel benefits.

We are indignant that after 13 years of suspension of collective bargaining to rehabilitate and help PAL recover from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, PAL, instead of rewarding its employees for their sacrifice, decided to terminate these workers and convert their jobs into contractual positions. It is important to note that in their latest financial report for the fiscal year ending March 2011, PAL declared substantial net profits of more than US$65 Million, contrary to their claim that the company is suffering from financial losses.

We are disturbed that the Aquino government’s tacit endorsement of Lucio Tan’s contractualization scheme belies its pronouncements of creating decent jobs for Filipino workers and that this support of PAL’s union busting and contractualization scheme is tantamount to the government's policy declaration that will surely serve as a green light to other corporations.

We strongly support the demand of PALEA that its members should be allowed to return to work as regular employees and the scrapping of PAL’s outsourcing and contractualization scheme.

We express our solidarity with the Filipino workers whose internationally recognized rights to decent jobs, to collective bargaining, to peaceful assembly have been violated by Philippine Airlines, supported by the Aquino administration.

We call on the government of the Philippines to use its power to intervene in industrial disputes to protect not only the workers of PAL and their families but also to send a message that the Aquino administration is serious in delivering on its promise of providing decent employment to Filipinos, instead of taking the side of the greedy Lucio Tan who controls the bulk of the country’s airline industry.

Lastly, we call on the riding public, especially overseas Filipino workers, to fly with alternative airline companies and stop patronizing Philippine Airlines! We call on everyone to join us in this fight against corporate greed! We call on everyone to boycott Philippine Airlines and other business interests of Lucio Tan including Air Philippines!